[The use of foot orthoses in school children with foot problems due to sports and other physical activities].
The study analyses the use of foot orthoses in 125 school children (age 7-16) with foot pain due to sports and other physical activities. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of foot orthoses use in school children with foot pain.


METHODS
Foot orthoses were indicated at the first orthopaedic examination. Using a specifically designed survey we determined the following: the age and sex of the examined children, the clinical state of feet, the persistence of pain, the level of pain using the visual analogue scale at the first and control examination, daily wearing of foot orthoses and satisfaction at the control examination.


RESULTS
We examined 125 school children, 85 boys (average age--11.7 years) and 45 girls (average age--11.1 years). Eighty-seven of them (69%) complained of pain during sports activities, 26 (21%) experienced pain only while walking and 6 examined children complained of constant pain while standing. Sports-related foot pain was most frequently associated with basketball (32%), to be followed by football (26%), athletics (15%), handball (9%), dancing (8%), tennis (5%) and combat sports (3%), whereas the smallest number of children complained of foot pain related to volleyball (2%). With regard to the pain location most of the examinees reported pain in the inner longitudinal arch (20%). Seventy-two of them were wearing foot orthoses during the whole day. The average level of pain at the first examination was 4.5. At the control examination 95 of examinees no longer complained of pain and in the remaining 30 examinees the pain was reduced to the level of 1.7. The majority of the examined children (94) rated their foot orthoses as "excellent" and the lowest mark "good" was given only by two examinees.


CONCLUSIONS
Foot orthoses are crucial for treatment of foot pain in school children regardless of pain etiology: foot deformities or/and overuse due to external causes.
Kauzlarić
Neven
N
Zavod za rehabilitaciju i ortopedska pomagala, Klinicki bolnicki centar Zagreb, Hrvatske.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management; D012775:Shoes; D013177:Sports